This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Point-of-Care diagnostics is one of the most popular fields of research in bio-medicine today because of its portability, speed of response, convenience and quality assurance. One of the most important steps in such a device is to prepare and purify the sample by extracting the nucleic acids, for which small…
Point-of-Care diagnostics is one of the most popular fields of research in bio-medicine today because of its portability, speed of response, convenience and quality assurance. One of the most important steps in such a device is to prepare and purify the sample by extracting the nucleic acids, for which small spherical magnetic particles called magnetic beads are often used in laboratories. Even though magnetic beads have the ability to isolate DNA or RNA from bio-samples in their purified form, integrating these into a microfluidic point-of-need testing kit is still a bit of a challenge. In this thesis, the possibility of integrating paramagnetic beads instead of silica-coated dynabeads, has been evaluated with respect to a point-of-need SARS-CoV-2 virus testing kit. This project is a comparative study between five different sizes of carboxyl-coated paramagnetic beads with reference to silica-coated dynabeads, and how each of them behave in a microcapillary chip in presence of magnetic fields of different strengths. The diameters and velocities of the beads have been calculated using different types of microscopic imaging techniques. The washing and elution steps of an extraction process have been recreated using syringe pump, microcapillary channels and permanent magnets, based on which those parameters of the beads have been studied which are essential for extraction behaviour. The yield efficiency of the beads have also been analysed by using these to extract Salmon DNA. Overall, furthering this research will improve the sensitivity and specificity for any low-cost nucleic-acid based point-of-care testing device.
